Indian workers stop work in Dubai

Nearly 2,000 workers, mostly Indians, involved in the construction of over 100 high-rise buildings here, stopped work and went on a rampage demanding better wages and working conditions.

The workers damaged eight cars and two buses, destroyed official documents and also pelted stones at office buildings besides beating up a site engineer last evening, a media report said.

This is the second incident of Indian workers going on a rampage in less than a month.

Earlier, 5,000 workers at Burj Dubai, where the world's tallest building is being constructed, stopped work and staged violent demonstrations.

The workers, all of Al Ahmadiyah Contracting Company, allege ill treatment, arbitrary salary deductions and non-payment of overtime by the management for stopping work.

The protest, which began at 6.30 pm local time, continued till late in the night. As the workers turned violent, police baton charged them and took a few of them into custody, the Khaleej Times reported.

One of the workers told the daily that the company management used to cut their salary for unnecessary reasons. They also claimed that the food provided by the company was unhygienic. Some also alleged that the supervisor used to beat them.

However, a senior official of the Dubai Police, Lieutenant-Colonel Rashid Bakheet, who is member of the Permanent Committee of Labour Affairs in Dubai, termed the protest as irrelevant and instigated by the "labour mafia".